Sometimes a game comes along that is simply utterly unique in every way. This rare occurrence creates memorable moments for gamers, and they fondly reminisce about playing Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter II, or Final Fantasy for the first time. Those games are sadly few and far between, but make no mistake, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! from developer Team Salvato and publisher Serenity Forge ranks as one of the most memorable gaming experiences ever. That’s certainly no small feat considering that this is a visual novel, a genre largely eschewed by mainstream gamers. Even wilder is that this is a four year old game that you can literally download for free on Steam (at least the regular version, not the expanded plus edition) so there’s absolutely no reason for most gamers to miss out on this one!
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus takes the original game and amps up the visuals and extras, remastering the original game in HD, adding six side stories that flesh out the characters, a jukebox and unlockable music tracks, and a photo album with a wide variety of unlockable content. But the main game is basically the same as the original and if you’ve played it before, you know exactly what you’re getting. For those of you that don’t, well, this is a singularly unique experience. For reference, doki doki is a Japanese term for a racing heart, a particularly apropos choice of terminology in this case.
There is a warning at the beginning of Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! that states “This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.” This is absolutely and unequivocally not a joke. The Nintendo Switch version (and presumably other console versions) go further and even offer the option to see spoilers as a trigger warning, warn those with anxiety or depression, and including a content agreement clearly stating the game’s content levels are no joke. Be assured, this is not a gimmick. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is a game for adults only. This is one of the wildest rides you’ve ever taken, especially in a visual novel/dating simulator. Because of the structure and design of the game and storyline, it’s almost impossible to talk about Doki Doki Literature Club Plus without giving away plot, but there will be no spoilers in this review.
In Doki Doki Literature Club, you play a self-named high school age boy who is childhood friends with his neighbor, a girl named Sayori. She urges you to pick a school club to join, a common activity, especially in Japan. Reluctantly, you agree to come to the literature club with her as the allure of cupcakes is too difficult to resist, and so our story begins. Simply talk to the girls of the club, get to know them, and eventually, you’ll be forced to write poetry. Yes, really. Don’t be a wuss, picks some words. Your word selection has a direct bearing on which girls like your poem and this is where you get the first hint of the things lurking about the periphery of Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!. Eventually, if you make the right choices, you can have a variety of encounters with the various girls of the game. There’s no nudity here though, so don’t think you’ll get to perv out. Much more than that is almost impossible to discuss here, so we’ll just say that the game has multiple endings, wildly unique mechanics, and storytelling that is both riveting, heartwarming, and utterly terrifying, all at the same time. You’d never know it to see it though, and that makes the impact of Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! all the more powerful. You are guaranteed to set your controller down at some point simply to process the plot and dialogue. Period.
Aside from the story, what you primarily get here is a fairly standard dating simulation style visual novel. Talk to the girls, make decisions from the options given, pick out the words for your poems, and continue to read. You can view dialogue history, save and load at any time, and drop out to an outer menu system to view images and listen to songs on the jukebox as you unlock them. As you play, you’ll also unlock side stories for the girls in the literature club, and it is highly recommended that you wait until after completing the game to play through the side stories, as you may end up spoiling something and you definitely don’t want that!
Regardless, the entire menu system is slick, easy to use, and clearly labelled and the overall graphic and gameplay design of Doki Doki Literature Club is smooth as silk. This is a well-engineered interface that’s simple to use and has no noticeable bugs. In regards to the Switch, touch mechanics have been enabled for the game, allowing you to simply tap your selections and tap to advance the dialogue, a handy feature often ignored by developers and particularly useful when playing the Switch in undocked mode, even though the regular interface is also excellent. PC players who have played the original game may be wondering how some of the late game mechanics are approached as there are specific expectations for the PC version, but rest assured, Team Salvato has thought of everything and the console version of Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! manages to address these questions with ease.
Visually, the game is primarily a visual novel. Cute girls, classrooms, slice of life situations, you know the drill. The art style is crisp and clean, and the upgrade to HD accentuates the excellent art direction. As the game plays out, the art style and creativity take a sharp upwards turn, and the overall effects used contribute to an outstanding visual presentation. This is easily mirrored by the music for Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! which vacillates between the bouncy, catchy them and a variety of other musical styles with matching sound and designed to have an overall noticeable auditory impact on players. In other words, the soundtrack is excellent, fits well with the game, and is absolutely worth listening to on the digital jukebox!
It’s absolutely heartbreaking not to talk about the way the game plays out, why it’s so interesting, or what sorts of things are in store for you as you play Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, but these are things that simply cannot and should not be done in a review of this game. The character development and depth is simply excellent, the expanded side stories magnify those characters, and for a game that will only last you around six hours or so, it’s still entirely worth the price of admission, a mere $15. In fact, Serenity Forge is publishing the first physical copies of Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! to go along with the release of the game, and for a mere $30, you can get a physical copy of the game with mini-standees, stickers, a download voucher for the soundtrack, a membership card, and even a poem! It’s a great deal for a very nice premium edition!
If you’re a fan of visual novels, horror games, dating sims, and other similar genres, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is an absolute must-have title. There’s simply no two ways about it. If you’re a casual who just kind of heard about the game and are wondering if an oddball six hour indie visual novel with lots of reading is worth bothering with, it entirely is worth your time. Unless the warnings on the game pertain to you and you’re worried about being triggered (and you definitely should be here), Doki Doki Literature Club Plus is a magnificent example of the versatility of video games as a storytelling vehicle and a psychologically manipulative head trip that is simply unrivalled by anything else even remotely similar. This is a unique game unlike anything you’ve ever played and unless someone has spoiled it for you, it is unquestionably worth your time.
This review is based on a digital copy of Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and was excellent in both. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is also available for Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and PC on Steam. All screenshots are of actual gameplay.